militarywikiaorg-20200222-history
101st Logistic Brigade (United Kingdom)
101 Logistic Brigade came into being during 1999 and is subordinate to HQ Theatre Troops. It was formerly known as the Combat Services Support Group (UK) (CSSG(UK)). Its first commander in this form was Tim Cross, then a brigadier. 101 Logistic Brigade, which wears the Blackadder tactical recognition flash after the famous television series, was formed in 1999 from what was the Combat Service Support Group (CSSG). The CSSG was the successor to the Force Maintenance Area (FMA), which was already using the Blackadder flash following its formation in 1990 in the deserts of Saudi Arabia. The then commander of the FMA, Brigadier Martin White, recognised the need for a sense of identity and found inspiration in a letter from his daughter in which she quipped 'I hope you have a cunning plan'. And so it was not long before the transit camps in the port of Al Jubail were named after characters from the programme: Baldrick Lines, Blackadder Camp, Meltchett Lines and Camp Bob. Then-Brigadier Patrick Cordingley puts it differently. He says that '...the engineers from 39 Engineer Regiment had also constructed a tented camp for another two thousand on some hard standing in the port to house logisticians who were likely to remain there after the rest of us deployed into the desert. This quickly became known, first unofficially and then officially, as Baldrick Lines, after the hapless manservant in the Blackadder television series. (The soldiers adopted Blackadder as something of a mascot. Baldrick's catchphase, 'I have a cunning plan', became a running joke for the next six months and later on in the campaign the logisticians even adopted a Blackadder arm badge).Patrick Cordingley, 'In the Eye of the Storm,' Coronet Books, Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1996, 49. As part of Theatre Troops it is able to deploy logistic force elements, including Brigade Headquarters, worldwide, in order to support the UK's military contribution to a national, NATO or a multi-national force. Current Units * Brigade Headquarters at Aldershot * 3rd Armoured Close Support Battalion, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at Tidworth * 4th Armoured Close Support Battalion, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at Tidworth * 6th Armoured Close Support Battalion, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at Tidworth * 102nd Theatre Battalion, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers RHQ at Newton Aycliffe * 103rd Battalion, Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers RHQ at Crawley Commanders Commanders of the brigade have included:Army Senior Appointments * 1999—2000 Brigadier Timothy Cross * 2000—2001 Brigadier Malcolm Wood * 2001—2003 Brigadier Ian Dale * 2003—2005 Brigadier Ian Copeland * 2005—2008 Brigadier Paul Jaques * 2008—2010 Brigadier Angus Fay * 2010—2012 Brigadier Gerald Mitchell * 2012—2013 Brigadier Rufus McNeil * 2013—2015 Brigadier Martin Moore * 2015—2017 Brigadier Simon Hamilton * 2017—2017 Brigadier John Blair-Tidewell * 2017—Present Brigadier Gerald Ewart-Brookes * (August) 2019— Brigadier Philip Prosser References External links * 101 Logistic Brigade - on British Army official website 101 Category:Military units and formations established in 1999 Category:Military logistics units and formations of the United Kingdom Category:1999 establishments in the United Kingdom